Mets sign Tim Tebow and assign him to instructional league; here's what it means

Settle down, this isn't even close to the majors

Former Heisman Trophy winner and NFL quarterback Tim Tebow made his intentions to play baseball known several weeks ago, and now he has an organization. And wouldn't you know it, he's signed with another orange and blue team, much like the Florida Gators and Denver Broncos.

The AP reports that Tebow and the Mets agreed to a $100,000 signing bonus. As James Wagner notes on Twitter, $100,000 is the highest bonus a team can give to a post-draft signee without incurring penalties. To put that figure in context, signing bonus slots for 10th-round picks in 2016 ranged from $161,300 to $156,000.

As for anyone misguidedly wondering about the impact on the Mets in 2016, there is zero. Instructional leagues are where teams start the earliest stages of development on players either needing experience or long-injured players go to get back some game speed during their rehab process. Generally speaking, a player like Tebow in instructionals is far, far away from hitting the majors.

As for the notion that Tebow might somehow be "taking someone else's spot," he's not. Spots in instructionals aren't limited and most of the game action isn't even limited to regular game-type situations. The at-bats aren't really limited, nor is the time spent on any given individual.

One thing that will surely be different than normal? The Tebow Media Circus along with the flocks of fans that come with it. One doesn't often see anything close to that in the instructionals.

As for the rest of us who are allowed to live in Tim Tebow's world, we're onto the next chapter. We know he's signed with the Mets. Now we breathlessly wait to see how far his major-league dream gets. His progress during the 2017 season will go a long way toward the conclusion of that chapter. How he fares in instructionals this year doesn't really impact that, but instead simply lays the foundation for 2017 spring training and beyond.

So what will constitute success for Tebow? He'll tell you himself:

"I would consider success giving it everything I have." - @TimTebow talks about his own expectations for success with the #Mets.

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Matt Snyder has been a baseball writer with CBS Sports since 2011. A member of the BBWAA, he's now covered every World Series since 2010. The former Indiana University baseball player now lives on the...
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